DVD screen grap windows 7

Former Member

Exactly wot it sez in the title. I need to take a few screen grabs from a DVD, purely for academic use. Any ideas how I can do it, for free preferably?

Former Member

Apart from print screen?

Former Member

It's Ctrl-Alt-S under VLC, apparently

Former Member

wooooooooah wrote: »

Apart from print screen?

Don't you tend to get a magenta rectangle because the playback has been offloaded to the graphics card?

Former Member

wooooooooah wrote: »

Apart from print screen?

If that worked and I knew how to do it, why the hell would I be asking?

Former Member

Big Gay wrote: »

Don't you tend to get a magenta rectangle because the playback has been offloaded to the graphics card?

No idea, I've never tried it!

katralla wrote: »

If that worked and I knew how to do it, why the hell would I be asking?

Okay let me rephrase that. What about the print screen key? :rolleyes:

Former Member

just pressed it, didn't seem to do anything... how does it work?

Former Member

Am downloading vlc... should solve the problem, fingers crossed.

Former Member

It would normally copy what's on the screen. If you open paint, and do [edit > paste], it should paste whatever you copied.

Although from what Big Gay said, it might not work.

Former Member

Ah, at least I now know how to do a general screen grab in wondows Nope, it didn't work for the DVD though, just got the control bar.

Former Member

Hi Katralla,

I take screen grabs from DVDs as well, and I found that Media Player Classic was best. You hit F5, and you can keep hitting it as often as you like so that you have a good selection of stills to choose from. Default path is My Documents I think but you can configure that. Press space bar to pause the video. Now here's the good part - once paused, you can press left or right arrow keys to view the DVD video frame-by-frame and hit F5 on a frame that you like. Much more powerful than Windvd / Powerdvd / and the normal Windows Media Player.

Former Member

It worked! Love love love love love you. Although, you've halted my procrastination so I am kinda back to grouchy again to - harumph!!!!!!!!!!!!

Former Member

Monserrat wrote: »

Hi Katralla,

I take screen grabs from DVDs as well, and I found that Media Player Classic was best. You hit F5, and you can keep hitting it as often as you like so that you have a good selection of stills to choose from. Default path is My Documents I think but you can configure that. Press space bar to pause the video. Now here's the good part - once paused, you can press left or right arrow keys to view the DVD video frame-by-frame and hit F5 on a frame that you like. Much more powerful than Windvd / Powerdvd / and the normal Windows Media Player.

Aw, thanks. I've just gone the VLC route and got what I need but ta very much for the detailed answer too.

Former Member

No probs, glad you got it sorted with VLC :-)

Btw, in post #10 Katralla, I've had that problem too on WMP, where your screen grab only has the control bar and a blank playback window. I can't remember why it happens, someone did explain it to me once - it was something to do with Window's inability to capture film and you needed a special program like the ones mentioned on this page.

Former Member

As far as windows is concerned, there is nothing there. it paints it a special colour (in this case it sounds like something almost, but not quite, black)

It then tells the graphics card to overlay anything that special colour with the result of the graphic card's MPEG processing hardware on the media stream from the DVD - but when Windows does a scfreen grab, all it sees is the colour, not the film.


It's a bit like taking a photograph on an action film set - you getthe actors, and a lot of green...